The oil and gas industry is so far one of the most evolved industries in recent years. With an upward CAGR of 5.2% between 2020 and 2025, the industry is estimated to grow its revenue to $32.5B by 2025. While the industry size grew, so did its safety challenges, particularly in the arena of cybersecurity, owing to the volatility of the industry. Experts claim that the major dependency of these industries on cyber security structures for daily functioning accounts for the growing cyber-attacks on the oil and gas sectors. These security breaches result in huge losses within the oil and gas market.
Furthermore, the workers face several challenges due to poor surveillance of the hazardous areas within the sectors. Read further to understand the security threats to the oil and gas industry and how modern technology can be adopted to counter them.
Security and Surveillance Challenges Faced for Oil and Gas Site Security
1. Improper Training and Awareness
Employees working in the oil and gas industries do not receive adequate training on security and surveillance. Being unaware of the dos and don’ts of proper security, the workers are not familiar with the right ways to conduct work without being vulnerable. Experts believe that effective training and awareness among employees should be the major step for reducing such cyber threats. However, training workers might be a bit expensive, and why several industrial sites often make it an optional measure - severely impacting the fatality rates of the site in the long run.
2. Poor Security and Surveillance Policies and Practices
Policies of surveillance and security in the oil and gas industry are often not at par with the recommended industry standards. We agree that creating the right policies will take time, effort, and workforce, but it should be a must when the security of the organization is concerned. The internet is a great source for instructions on how proper security policies must be formed. However, the company should always hire professionals for the job instead of relying on unauthorized information on the web. When the security and surveillance policies are unclear, the workers are misled. Following the wrong security practices often makes the industry susceptible to major cyber threats. To avoid such dire situations, organizations must take charge of creating the right policies, training the employees about them, ensuring that the policies are followed thoroughly, and updating the rules whenever needed.
3. Inadequate Protection against Explosion
Oil and gas sectors deal with hazardous chemicals which make the working environment explosive. Improper surveillance has become a major threat nowadays, especially when the workplace is filled with hazardous substances. Traditional cameras are not built to resist the challenging work conditions in the oil and gas industry, including high and fluctuating temperatures, pressure, and hazard protection. Even the smallest spark from these electronics can cause a huge explosion when the come in contact with the volatile atmosphere with combustible air-borne particles. Failing to invest in cameras suited for hazardous sites can result in several fatalities and major accidents at oil and gas sites globally.
4. Ineffective IT and Industrial Network Separation
Oil and gas industries are making hasty decisions of punching their industrial networks with IT networks for faster processing of data between IT and OT sectors. Even though this is a more affordable option, it brings in many unwanted security threats to the company. Cybercriminals are aware of such networking and they know if a small portion of the network is hacked, the entire system will shut down. To prevent this, the oil and gas technicians need to come up with better strategies for using the networks effectively.
5. Insufficient Security of the Onshore and Offshore Networks
Using IT protocols within the Industrial Control Systems has severely affected the security of the networks. Besides this, other new vulnerable technologies have also made their appearance in the oil and gas sectors. One of them is the cloud storage facility. Many data breaches take place when vital industries like oil and gas companies decide to store their data in cloud spaces. Preference to a cost-effective system by such sites often comes at the expense of major damages and losses at the hands of cyber attackers.
Important Security Touchpoints for Oil and Gas Site Security
Investing in Explosion-Proof Surveillance Solutions
To ensure that the workers are safe while working in such explosive conditions of the oil and gas industry, companies should install the best quality Explosion-Proof Cameras. More than half of the surveillance threats can be reduced when the area is protected with the right camera system. Explosion-proof cameras contain the spark within the housing of the wire and prevent their contact with the explosives in the atmosphere. By doing so, they secure the workplace against any explosions caused by electrical malfunctioning of the surveillance tools. Smart camera analytics used in a hazardous area camera is the solution to most of the security issues. As they come in a wide range of prices, you can find one that fits your budget easily. Furthermore, exploring a wide range of ex-proof cameras by reliable providers like SharpEagle ensures that the opted surveillance solutions are tailored to address the specific challenges of the industrial site for a long period of time.
Read more: How Video Surveillance is Transforming the Oil and Gas Industry
Proper Training of Workers
As discussed before regular training of the workers in equipment handling and safer workplace practices can be very expensive, considering the business and human costs it needs. However, taking the security threats into account, the company might stand to lose way more in human and infrastructure liabilities if accidents occur due to the negligence of an untrained worker. When compared to the losses faced by the company as a result of security threats, the training expenses seem far less. The company must have a policy to employ only those workers who undergo a proper understanding of cyber security matters and safety training within the industry, irrespective of their experience before employment.
Improved Verification Technology
Ensure that the latest verification technology is incorporated at the industry for advanced perimeter security and protection against physical and cyber intruders. Some of these technological measures include the employment of better resources in access permission management, digital ID validation, and digital attendance verification. Additionally, the integration of AI-powered solutions can enable managers to monitor the premises 24/7 through smart detection of intruders and situational analysis.
Remote Access and Central Control Management
Dispersed security systems across the site result in disparate access control and disconnected data, making crisis management extremely challenging. Remote management and centralised control are key pillars of efficient risk management in hazardous industries like oil and gas. Standardised systems and centralised control make it much easier to optimise security and surveillance since it ensures easier integration with the other devices, allowing managers to assess risks and respond to them much more efficiently. For instance, the high-temperature fluctuation can be detected through an alarm and its integration with the ex-proof camera can directly show the problem to the central management, allowing them to remotely manage the emergency without causing a major accident and/or panic among the workers.
Smart Video Analytics
Security cameras and motion sensors are highly sensitive and, thus, often susceptible to false alarms that cause major disruptions in the daily operations of the oil and gas industry. Furthermore, it is impossible to conduct in-depth surveillance for 200+ cameras installed at an oil and gas site, often leading to serious security breaches. The incorporation of AI-powered video analytics helps in smart detection, allowing the managers to focus on specific feeds where it detects malpractices and security breaches due to unverified facial recognition. Furthermore, it conducts a thorough threat analysis, filtering the false alarms and preventing unnecessary disruptions for smoother operations at the oil and gas industries.
Conclusion
In conclusion, safety and security measures are no longer optional to counter the modern challenges faced by the oil and gas industry. Industries that fail to comply with the safety standards set by regulatory bodies like OSHA faces serious penalities and fines for negligence. On the other hand, the incorporation of the recommended safety measures helps in reducing false alarms, generating situational awareness, and avoiding business liability and unnecessary costs. As discussed above, explosion-proof cameras are an indispensable measure to achieving the ideal standards in oil and gas site security. Learn more.
SharpEagle is a leading safety consultant in the UK and GCC. Our team provides end-to-end safety solutions, primarily for explosion-prone areas like the oil and gas industry, including site inspection, designing and manufacturing of ex-proof camera solutions, as well as their installation and maintenance. Our cameras are ATEX-certified and AI-integrated to address modern industrial problems and create safer workplaces.
To explore our full range of products, visit our SharpEagle website or book a free consultation call with our experts today!
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